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Ethical Consuming Topic
Topic Started: Apr 17 2016, 12:43 AM (971 Views)
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Spirit
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Hi guys!

So I've been trying to do this thing lately where I make 1 positive change per month to the way I purchase/use everyday products. Necare has been a good sport about playing by my rules, but I'm mostly on my own as far as coming up with the monthly resolutions.

I'm hoping we can use this topic to brainstorm minor affordable, realistic lifestyle changes to adopt each month. Here's what Nec and I have been doing so far:

November: only buy free run eggs.
December: use decompostable bags for our compost bin.
January: use sand instead of salt to manage ice outside (wasn't a problem this winter, lel)
February: stop buying dryer sheets (though we'll use up what we have already, which will take a while)
March: never buy from a specific food place we frequent unless we've brought reusable bags
April: ???

Any ideas? What small sacrifices do you guys make in the name of sustainability?
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Sundancer
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Stargazer

Oh, this thing I came across the other day would be relevant.

BDS through cosmetics

It kinda depends on your definition of ethical and your politics, in that case; I myself freely admit I haven't thought about whether I want to make these changes yet, though I also shouldn't be buying new makeup anytime soon tbh

As far as my understanding of it, ethical consumption is quite complex e.g. food justice via ethical sourcing & non-exploitative labour (vs. the more simple vegetarian/vegan dichotomy), buying clothes made in places with proper safety regulations (as opposed to not buying clothes made in certain countries because of likelihood of unsafe sweatshops; see the BDS consumption link for further explanation on this), etc.

I don't know that much about the nuances of sustainable consumption though, tbh. Just thought I'd toss in some food for thought as to what it means to be "ethically" consuming.

Personally I'm not making very many ethical consumption choices because my life is a mess right now, and I do not have the spoons or resources to adopt changes like that; the name of the game right now is survival, not improving what isn't done well. Hopefully come summer I'll be able to start revamping some things as I revamp the rest of my life.
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Saturos
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heart-under-blade

A lot of those sound like good ideas, Terri! The free-run eggs is especially a tough one, given the cost of free-run (I feel like Japanese eggs are a bit better? But that's just because I've noticed the yolks are yellower/meaning the chickens have better nutrition, and ofc they taste better anyway), but the rest of them are pretty easily done. ^^

I don't have a dryer here, and frankly I don't think I need one. Stuff tends to dry within 24 hours anyway, and it cuts down on your electric bill. ^^

I think the easiest ethical choices are those that overlap somewhat with cost anyway. For example, I've almost entirely cut beef out of my diet just because it's so much more expensive in Japan - and also, it's the most water-intensive, feed-intensive, greenhouse-gas producing of all the meat you could eat. Chicken is much better, and pork is still quite a bit better.

Yeah, the BDS thing has a good point about the sweatshop things, in that the workers themselves haven't called for it, but I think that's also just a measure of the desperation that the corporations are taking advantage of, there. I think having both safety and something that pays a living wage at 40 hours a week (so not working for 80 hour weeks or whatnot, and remembering that the cost of living would be much lower in a lot of these areas) would be good places to start, tentatively.

I've recently had the pleasure of forgoing a car and using bicycle+public transport, even in the case of having to bike 25 km in a day. And I think I feel both physically and ethically better about myself, not contributing to greenhouse gases in that way. And I would love to live in a place where I can continue to live that lifestyle, though I know it will be tricky (especially in Canada, where bikeriding isn't really feasible for many months of the year).
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Ceremonial Dentist Fridge
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Spirit
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Thanks for the link, Toria! It was an interesting read. I don't wear makeup anyway, but I'll do some more looking into the BDS.

I agree that "ethical consuming" is a vague term that depends on your personal politics. I'll for sure allow myself to edit these resolutions as time goes on and I gain access to new information. That's partly why I made this topic; I'm hoping for new viewpoints on what it means to be an ethical consumer. If something I'm doing hurts more than it helps, I want to be made aware of it.

Thanks for sharing, Satty! I've been considering veganism, but a) that's a huge step and b) I'm not convinced it's as helpful as it seems. More info needed. But cutting out beef sounds like a reasonable first step! We'll consider that. Thank you.

Free run eggs ARE expensive, but it's something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I feel strongly about the benefit and I always said I'd switch if I could afford it. So now I'm finding ways to afford it, and I feel much better about where my dollars are going!

And I do feel good about using public transit. :) Though that's more circumstantial than something I can take credit for.
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Mia
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I'M NOT INNOCENT!

If you don't want to be vegan, you could become vegetarian or pescatarian, Terri. Personally for me, I only eat chicken and fish and the rest are plant base foods (pesco pollo vegetarian). I really am considering becoming vegan but it is a slow process for me and I've been doing my own research on some things. Maybe you could start making small changes into your daily food habit every other week. Recently I replaced my hygienic materials with free animal cruelty products. If you have any questions, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to help give you a useful answer.
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Nell
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I think the biggest difficulty with attempting to be an Ethical Consumer(TM) is the resources involved in trying to make those consumer decisions - not just the extra cash that ethically-produced goods usually cost, but the sheer amount of diligence involved in trying to make informed decisions about what you buy. Purchasing free range eggs is one of the simplest and most accessible steps towards ethical consumption, but in Australia, we recently had a scandal where two dozen or so "free range" product lines at major supermarkets allegedly had very poor animal cruelty standards. Without actually meeting and talking to the producers themselves, it's often hard to know for sure whether the information you're basing your decisions on has much truth to it. Veganism is a whole other can of worms - I've read several interesting (imo) articles about whether vegetarian or vegan lifestyles are objectively more "ethical" than being an omnivore.

With that out of the way, a few things you could try:
- buying second-hand - clothes, electronics, books, kitchenware, whatever. Bonus for usually being cheaper than buying new.
- eating local/season produce as much as possible. Unfortunately, not always cheaper than imported stuff.

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Jenn-uh
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hunny bunchkins sugarcube lettuce chamomile sweetie pumpkin schnitzel fries

Hell
Apr 17 2016, 08:51 PM
eating local/season produce as much as possible. Unfortunately, not always cheaper than imported stuff.

Echoing this. It cuts down on the gasoline used to transport imported food and supports local farms!
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Saturos
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heart-under-blade

Also echoing the buying used and local things, it's both good economic sense and ethical sense (the latter economically good for your area, not necessarily for you personally).

I haven't thought of buying used kitchenware before, usually because the new stuff is so cheap, but that's an interesting idea! I'm guessing for appliances in particular that might be helpful.

And yeah, it's always hard to know whether or not to trust the labels, especially with 'greenwashing' - trying to make something environmentally friendly or ethical when it isn't, in actuality. And ofc, just because something's local doesn't mean it was ethically produced (but if it's not a big corporation, the odds go way up that it was).
Access to local meat/produce is also something that not everything has, economic cost aside.
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Nell
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I forgot the caveat I was going to add. Product labelling is often deceptive. In Australia, it's mandatory to label things with country of origin, but that doesn't always tell the full story. So we end up with things like certain types of shellfish, which are harvested in Australia, but then sent to places in south-east Asia for processing (cleaning, shelling), then returned to Australia for sale. So it's technically an Australian product, but it's been halfway across the world and back in its life, just because it's cheaper to do all the labour in Vietnam than it would be to pay people to do it here.

Also keep an eye out for "premium claims".
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Ceremonial Dentist Fridge
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Spirit
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Hell
Apr 17 2016, 08:51 PM
I think the biggest difficulty with attempting to be an Ethical Consumer(TM) is the resources involved in trying to make those consumer decisions - not just the extra cash that ethically-produced goods usually cost, but the sheer amount of diligence involved in trying to make informed decisions about what you buy. Purchasing free range eggs is one of the simplest and most accessible steps towards ethical consumption, but in Australia, we recently had a scandal where two dozen or so "free range" product lines at major supermarkets allegedly had very poor animal cruelty standards. Without actually meeting and talking to the producers themselves, it's often hard to know for sure whether the information you're basing your decisions on has much truth to it. Veganism is a whole other can of worms - I've read several interesting (imo) articles about whether vegetarian or vegan lifestyles are objectively more "ethical" than being an omnivore.
I totally get this. I put this whole idea off for years because 1) I didn't think I could afford it and 2) I didn't trust myself to see through corporate greenwashing, etc. Hence why I'm starting with extremely cut-and-dry stuff like free-run eggs and sand in place of salt. Though it's unfortunate to hear about the egg thing in Australia. :( I'll do some digging into the brand I buy now. If you have any of those veganism articles handy, I'd love to take a read.

Thanks for the tips about buying second-hand! That's something really easy that I rarely do.

I buy my tomatoes and such locally when I have the option, but I feel quite guilty about how often I buy bananas and avocados. I can't bring myself to give up exotic fruit yet, but I hope I get there one day, for the transport reasons Jenna mentioned.

What are "premium claims," Nell? Google just wants to sell me insurance.
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Nell
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Premium claims is the term used in competition law for descriptors given to products to make them more appealing in various ways. Some of the common ones are "organic", "gluten-free", "environmentally friendly", and "handmade". You also get premium claims referencing common assumptions about the quality of a product based on where it comes from: "Belgian beer", "Japanese cars", "Swiss chocolate". It's illegal to make such a claim if it's false (eg. gluten-free chips that, in fact, have gluten in them). It's also illegal to make a claim that's true but irrelevant (eg. a gluten-free chips where most other chips don't have gluten), especially if you're going to try to sell it at a higher price because of the so-called-premium claim that it's somehow a better product because of it.

Here's one article about the ethics of vegetarianism (Australian-based content). I'm sure there are more around. http://theconversation.com/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659
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Saturos
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heart-under-blade

Oh, I didn't know the irrelevant claim was illegal as well. I've seen laundry soaps claiming to be "phosphate-free," but all the other laundry detergents being sold there were also phosphate-free. Maybe it was an old thing...?

EDIT: That article is certainly thought-provoking, yeah! A lot of it does seem unique to Australia, and I think it conveys its point well that meat isn't necessarily less humane than all that goes into getting plants to the table. The appeals to pathos here and there are a bit transparent, but that's also pretty indicative of the discourse on this topic as a whole.

I'd be curious what the picture looks like beyond cattle/grains particularly, and talking about other vegetarian foods and farm animals. Stuff like tofu and nuts are good sources of protein in that case, but it's also true that rice fields produce a lot of methane as well, greenhouse gas-wise.
Edited by Saturos, Apr 17 2016, 10:37 PM.
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Dracobolt
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Incorrigible

Have you looked into food co-ops in your area? Obviously you still wanna research them to make sure that they source their food from ethical producers, but if you find a good place you can shop there without having to research every individual product.

:mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn:
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Sundancer
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Stargazer

Weighing in real quick on the ethical food debate, I unfortunately don't have articles on hand but what Nell is discussing is also what I was talking about re: food justice is complicated. Actually, googling "food justice" may be a very good place to start. AFAIK what complicates something like veganism ranges from issues of labour rights, resource, and land use in producing the foods needed to sustain veganism, to how that [radio edit]s with the pricing of staple foods elsewhere in the world, to the many intersecting issues of access to foods that have become prized for their importance in certain consumption trends... to many more things. Basically food justice is not just not eating meat, but often becomes flattened into that simple approach.

A quick google turned this up: http://foodsecurecanada.org/ It looks promising for a Canadian context.

Since I'm doing it right now re: tips, I almost never use the dryer, more for economic reasons but... eh, also good for that. Toronto specific but I'd definitely look into bunzing things if you're also trying to declutter & want either useful things or second-hand interesting stuff. You should hopefully be added to the bunz group by now.

for non-Torontonians: Bunz Trading Zone is a barter/trade economy thing w/around 36+k members in Toronto wherein no money is allowed and the ethos of the zone is to trade things or services for other things or services. Sometimes this manifests in basically money b/c people ask for gift cards or transportation tokens, but other times there are pretty good deals. Not always Ethical (TM) but provides alternate means of sourcing that may be more economically accessible.

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Nell
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Oh yeah, I read something about how the rise in the popularity of hipster and vegetarian diets in the first world has driven the price of quinoa so high that the people who farm it in Bolivia can't afford to eat it anymore.

I don't own a clothes dryer - I don't think I've ever owned a clothes dryer, but I have on occasion used a local laundromat to dry things (like the time my house flooded and I needed to dry 10 towels). I also don't own a car, but that wasn't entirely motived by ethical reasons.
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Dracobolt
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Incorrigible

Living somewhere without a clothes dryer, when I get back to civilization, you will have to pry my dryer from my cold, dead hands.

Buuuut maybe I'll do other things to offset that.

:mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn:
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Saturos
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heart-under-blade

I've only had a dryer for two years of my life in grad school - now I hang clothes on hangers from door frames, but having either a clotheshorse or an indoor/outdoor clothesline is also pretty great.

Something interesting about the Food Secure site there, as much as I like what it's talking about, is the anti-GMO emphasis. While GMO foods can definitely be corporate and monetized (Monsato being a famous offender), GMOs also have a lot of potential to reduce our environment impact (ie. plague-resistant or bug-resistant foods that reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides, or crops that improve the yield to help to feed more of the world's population). But who controls these GMOs and has access to them is also a big question.
Basically both pro- and anti-GMO stuff are things to be skeptical off.

Also, another cautionary point: co-ops aren't always owned by local farmers, and sometimes can be former co-ops that were bought out by major companies. But that's pretty easy to investigate on a store-by-store basis.
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Necare
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Fallen Angel

*makes mental note to get around to reading the linked articles*

I'm going to do my own research, but just in case anybody has anything to offer of the top of their head, our latest thing is trying to purchase environmentally friendly laundry detergent. Any tips or suggestions?


:luna:
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Mia
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I'M NOT INNOCENT!

Ever heard of a website called EWG, Necare? You can check out this link to find environmentally friendly laundry detergents.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

It's not necessarily something you'd be buying every month, but when you buy electronics, look into whether they are using conflict minerals in their products and try to buy from elsewhere if you can. Another thing to look into is battery recycling, though this is kind of location-specific, a lot of places don't have easy ways to do so.

Also:
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